Mary-Kate Olsen On 'Disappointment' Of Her & Ashley Olsen Being Called 'The Girl

Transcript

00:00 Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are not fond of the old nicknames of theirs that have endured.

00:04 In a rare interview with the Financial Times,

00:06 the fashion designers opened up about their work on their luxury label, The Row,

00:10 and how now, years after their transition from child stardom to the fashion world,

00:14 they are often referred to in the press as they were in their early years.

00:17 Mary-Kate explained,

00:19 "There are certain words, like referring to my sister and I as 'the Olsen twins' or 'the twins' or 'the girls'.

00:24 We're 37 years old. We have had very interesting lives.

00:27 We work together. We're business partners. We're sisters.

00:30 I think that's the first thing that comes to mind.

00:32 How many other people are called 'the girls' when they're designing?

00:35 I think that's where the disappointment comes from,

00:37 and that's why we feel like the product should just speak for itself."

00:40 Mary-Kate also opened up about her and Ashley's preference for staying out of the spotlight,

00:44 telling the Financial Times, "We're just private people.

00:47 We've done interviews our whole life and — no offense —

00:50 but I don't know how this conversation is going to go.

00:52 So after years of that, you just choose to stop talking to people if it's not going to translate."

00:56 Ashley also reflected on their journey building their fashion empire, sharing in part,

01:00 "At 18, we decided to go to school and see what the world had to offer.

01:03 And we started a company together in 2006 and have been in business for almost 20 years.

01:08 I think everyone knows that this industry is extremely, extremely difficult.

01:12 And we started with just the two of us, one step at a time."

01:15 She added, "At the end of the day, we're just two hardworking women who love what we do."

01:20 Their hard work has paid off.

01:21 The Roe has won multiple CFDA awards for Women's Wear Designer of the Year

01:25 and Accessories Designer of the Year.

01:27 In addition to their continued career success,

01:29 they've also had some exciting personal news recently.

01:31 Earlier this year, Ashley welcomed her first child, a baby boy named Otto,

01:36 multiple outlets reported at the time.

01:38 Following the news, her former Full House co-stars Andrea Barber and Jodie Sweden

01:42 sent their congratulations on their podcast.

01:45 "So happy for her." "So yeah, congratulations, Ashley and her husband.

01:48 I'm just really, really happy on the birth of their little baby boy, Otto.

01:53 I can't wait to see. I'm sure that they will keep it very private as they do,

01:58 but I just want to wish them well and congratulations and welcome to motherhood."

02:04 "The Full House family is so happy for them."

02:06 (upbeat music)